Tail Material Advice?

[MermaidAllie]

I'm wanting to make a latex/neoprene tail once I finish my spandex one, but I don't know how much material to get. I know I'll need at least 5 gallons of latex, or will I need more? How many pounds of clay will I need? I'll only be using it on my fluke since I'm wanting to make the scales out of small foam circles (or maybe ovals?). I'm pretty sure I will only need about 5 yards of 52-60" wide neoprene, but is that not enough also?

I'd love some advice on how much to get so I don't end up running out in the middle of the project and ruining everything! Thanks!


(P.s. - Some tips on which paints to buy would be great too)

EDIT: And as for the plaster, will I need more than 25 pounds of the dry stuff? I'm wanting to use Plaster of Paris since I'm familiar with it and don't want to mess up any molds by trying to use fiberglass resin for the first time.

[ShyMer]

I bought the 5 gallon container of latex when I started mine and I'm getting two tails out of it (I was sloppy and wasted a bunch, too.) I think Star said she used 5 gallons, but she cast her body much thicker than I did (I think) and used some for dirty casting. I think you'll likely have a bunch left over after you're done if you buy 5 gallons, but that's okay. Maybe you'll experiment with tops or webbed fingers or something. Maybe you'll make two tails :)

I know this isn't what you were planning, but did you consider cutting out your scale shapes out of clay with a cookie cutter? Another user is doing that and it looks so much easier (boo, I forget her name!) You can reuse your clay, so you'll be extra thrifty :)
Seriously, you could use any shape you want and it won't cost you 10 bucks at least for each hole puncher you'll end up breaking. Plus you'll be able to mold your scales if you like. Foam can't do that.

[MermaidAllie]

Oh wow thanks for the advice! I was hoping 5 gallons would be enough, it's rather expensive and I don't have much funds for a tail at the moment.

A cookie cutter? That sounds pretty smart actually, if I get enough clay I can do that instead of spending up to $20 on foam dots (:

[Triton-Mahtlinnie]

I did a solid cast latex tail (no neoprene) and used 2 gallons. And I cast pectoral fins and a dorsal with it as well.

For clay, I ended up using I think four 4.5lb packages? I'd shoot for at least 20lbs of clay, depending on how big your fluke will be. If you get plastalina, it's at least reuseable.

[MermaidAllie]

No neoprene? How did that work out for you? I might try that if it works well enough since neoprene is a little too expensive for me considering I'll need at least 5-6 yards of it cause I'm super tall (which sucks sometimes).

I'm wanting to get a finis rapid monofin and add some stuff to it to give it an actual dolphin look instead of a manatee. I don't think I'll go bigger than 2.5 feet wide by 2 or 2.5 feet long.

[Triton-Mahtlinnie]

It's working okay so far. I did embed powermesh (a stretchy mesh liner used to line swimsuits) into it to get it some more strength. I've only swam in it once so far, so I'm not able to say anything about its durability yet. It does feel pretty solid though. I think there's some other mers around who have also made solid latex tails as well though?

[MermaidAllie]

Where would I be able to find some powermesh? It sounds like just latex might work for me, mostly due to the fact that I'm not use to sewing a lot >.<

[Triton-Mahtlinnie]

I picked up my powermesh at JoAnn fabrics, it was in the active wear section. You could also try websites that sell spandex or swimwear material.

My reccomendation is to browse the forums and read the threads of other people who have made latex tails to see how their projects went and how they held up over time.

[MermaidAllie]

Alrighty, thanks a bunch!